Blog

Tag: Early Literacy

A teacher sits at a table with four children reading books.

New Low for 3rd Grade Reading Shows Why We’re Taking Action

Six out of 10 fourth graders in Michigan went back to school this year unprepared to read at grade level. In announcing the results from...

A teacher stands at a chalkboard at the front of classroom with several students. One of them is raising a hand.

New Employer Toolkit Tackles Crisis of K12 Absenteeism

As students head back to school across Michigan, too many classrooms will have empty seats and too many young learners will not be present when...

preschool classroom with children and teachers sitting at a table

Opinion: Preserve Community-Based Preschool Programs

The following opinion was originally published in The Detroit News on May 21 (subscriber link). By Kevin Stotts For more than a decade, Michigan has...

Announcing the first winners of the Talent First Literacy Leader Awards

NEWS RELEASE: TalentFirst today named five West Michigan elementary schools as the first recipients of its Literacy Leader Award, recognizing excellence in early literacy instruction...

Some Promising Attention to Michigan’s Early Literacy Crisis

The alarm bell is still ringing, but we are seeing signs that communities are waking up to the early literacy crisis that has been building...

Population Headlines Are Grim, but West Michigan is Doing Something Right

A recent Bridge Michigan article might have surprised anyone accustomed to dismissing our neighbor to the south, Indiana. Headlined “Indiana is beating Michigan by attracting...

New Dashboard Provides Tools to Tackle Michigan’s Early Literacy Crisis

With tests showing a continuing decline in early literacy in Michigan, TalentFirst has published an interactive dashboard documenting third-grade reading scores for nearly every elementary...

Moving Forward: An Impact Report for 2021

Talent 2025 has always been a forward-looking organization, determined to catalyze a talent system that meets the needs of the region’s employers and supports the...

To Improve the Talent System, Follow the Evidence

To Improve the Talent System, Follow the Evidence Note: This is the sixth in a series of posts analyzing the nine key strategies cited in...

Pediatricians Are Playing a Crucial Role in Early Literacy

Pediatricians Are Playing a Crucial Role in Early Literacy At a time when we are especially grateful to health care providers, it is worth remembering...